Sometimes
by Sabeloid
Summary: Hiro, a freshman in high school, is trying to fit in with the rest of his peers, while struggling to keep his connection strong with his older brother, Tadashi. A story about Hiro's life in and around school, set before the movie. Unfortunately, I don't own anything 'cept this plot.
1. Chapter 1

Tadashi's P.O.V

Hiro sat in unnerving silence as Tadashi drove the both of them to school. At the age of eleven, Hiro was embarking into high school for the first time.

Hiro had chosen to skip his last three grades when he had been given the opportunity just that summer. Tadashi had constantly asked him if he was sure with his decision to skip so many grades at once, but Hiro had confidently responded that the work had been childish, and when Tadashi had asked if he would miss his friends, Hiro quickly responded with a wave of the hand and a smile before turning away and walking out of the room. Tadashi found it strange but didn't want to question and push Hiro any further.

Now, he regretted the decision as he glanced over at his younger brother in the passenger's seat, fiddling with his hands with the slightest look of panic on his face as he stared blankly out the windshield. Tadashi inwardly sighed.

"Hey." He said softly but got no response. "Hiro." He said in his normal volume. Still nothing. "Hiro!" He half shouted.

The young boy with shaggy raven colored hair jumped in his seat and turned to Tadashi, startled.

"Hiro, you okay?"

"What? Yeah! W-why do you ask?" He stumbled, giving an obviously fake grin, trying to convince his older brother that he need not worry.

Tadashi gave his brother a smile. "Hey, don't worry so much. You'll be fine. It's just high school."

"Yeah…" Hiro gave a nervous little laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

Tadashi stopped the car at a red light and turned towards his brother. He gave a small crooked smile and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Hey! No touchie the hair!" Hiro yelled, trying to shield the black mess on top of his head from his brother's wrath.

"Great vocab, bonehead." Tadashi laughed out. "What are you, five?" He grinned and started driving when the light turned green.

Hiro huffed and slid down in the car seat, but Tadashi could tell that the boy's mood had already been lifted. Maybe Hiro skipping some grades wasn't too bad after all…

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

Hiro sat down at the desk furthest from the front of the classroom. It was the last class of the day, and Hiro was already exhausted. Was it going to be like this the whole year?

When Hiro had first entered the school, he found that his homeroom was at the opposite side of the large building from Tadashi's. He was the first to enter aside from a young woman with a name tag that read Miss. Cereno. She had long strawberry hair that was tied up in a ponytail, brown eyes, and freckles that were slightly scattered across her face. She was seated at a large desk in the back of the room, complete with a computer, and organized stacks of papers, binders, and history books. She looked up as Hiro entered but then went back to last minute tidying before the bell rang. Hiro sat down in the front row of the room, somewhat eager to start his first day.

Soon, other freshmen started to slowly trickle into the room, and eventually, most of the seats were filled before the bell that started the day rang. Miss Cereno stood to address the class as soon that the chime sounded and headed towards the front of the room.

She looked at all the faces in the room who were silently watching her. She cleared her throat before addressing the class with the standard procedure.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Miss. Cereno. I am a fairly new teacher here at the school, this being my second year. I teach history for every grade except yours." She smiled and continued. "But that's alright, because I get to see your lovely faces every day before classes."

Miss. Cereno unfolded a piece of paper that she had been holding.

"I will be taking attendance in just a moment before I hand out your schedules for the year. If I mispronounce your name, please correct me, as we have the next four years together. Now, is John Artweld here?"

"Here!"

"Mayara Cayria?"

"Present! But just Maya please."

"Alright. Tiana Forris?"

"Yup!"

"Tantor Garrold?"

"Yo."

"Hiro Hamada?"

Before Hiro could even respond, a voice in the back of the room burst out laughing. Hiro turned to see a boy with curly, brown hair, tipped back in his seat, and covering his mouth with his hand.

"Who names their kid Hero?" He laughed. "Like, did they think that with a name like Hero, the kid would feel like they were something special? Hero. WOW. Haha, they must have been thinking that the kid would just suddenly develop superpowers and save the world from aliens or something!" The kid started crying with laughter and soon, other kids were chuckling as well.

"And who might you be?" Miss. Cereno asked; delight, clearly not in her voice.

The kid wiped his eyes. "Tommy Mackinar."

"Well, Tommy, I do not take kindly to disrespect in this room, and I'm afraid you'll find no one in the school who does. Should I catch another act like that again, you will be suspended from school." She said with an agitated kindness in her voice, though Hiro could tell that she was slightly mocking him.

"What?!" Tommy shouted.

"I do not tolerate bullies Mr. Mackinar, and should I ever hear or see it again, your parents will arrive home with some unpleasant news about their son."

Tommy looked as though he was about to say something, but decided against it, sitting back in his seat.

"Now," Miss. Cereno said, regaining control over the class. "Hiro Hamada, are you present?"

Hiro reluctantly raised his hand and spoke a quiet "Here…"

Miss. Cereno nodded in Hiro's direction, clearly understanding the unease he felt, then went back to the attendance list.

* * *

><p>Throughout the day, Hiro had received strange looks from those who walked by him in the halls and had classes with him. He could hear people whispering about him behind his back all day, and when he raised his hand to answer a question, which seemingly was all, he received glares from his fellow peers. During attendances, the teachers always seemed to pause at his name and raise an eyebrow as they called it out, with a few giggles from the class.<p>

Hiro also had two other classes with the boy named Tommy, who, in both, sent a smile Hiro's way that sent shivers down his spine. He quickly found that Tommy was extremely popular with almost half of the freshmen due to the fact that he was the grade jokester and a slightly better baseball player than the rest. And he always had a group of friends with him as he walked the halls.

By the end of the day, Hiro had learned to stay to himself, and try to keep attention away from him. But he found that almost impossible as he stuck out like a sore thumb, being the youngest in each class, and an obvious genius. Most of his teachers had called on him multiple times after asking an advanced question, as if testing out his intellect. And every time he answered correctly, the class murmured with comments such as, "Show-off" or "Brainiac" or even "Freak."

Hiro was mentally worn, and just wanted the day to be over. And after another long 45 minutes, the bell rang and Hiro was set free.

* * *

><p>A.N<p>

Hey guys! Soooo first fanfic, but I hope you like! If you have any suggestions, PLZ lemme know as I'm making this up as I go along :P Anyways, will maybe have one or two more intro chapters before we get into the good stuff!

Oh! And my greatest of thanks to Sora Matasuki for inspiring me into writing this! Go check out her stories, they're AMAZANG. ya.


	2. Chapter 2

A.N. Now, remember kiddies, Hiro is only eleven so yes, he does like to act his age sometimes ;)

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

"Sooo… how was it?"

"Hm?" Hiro stared out the car window, obviously lost in his thoughts.

Tadashi sighed as he focused his attention on the road. His first day hadn't been too bad. He'd found out that he had classes with a lot of his friends, juniors and seniors. Tadashi himself had skipped a grade but he had held onto connections from his original classmates, as well as created new ones in his new class. He mostly had classes with seniors, but he shared gym and lunch with his old friends. Tadashi would have rather spent that time working on his projects rather than eating lunch and playing games such as badminton, but two lunches and three gym classes were required per week, not to mention that he had to take a health class later on in the year. He didn't mind it though, considering he was preparing a new project to use to get into college, and he would need the information about health care to make it better.

But it didn't seem as though Hiro was having as good a time as he had on his first day of school, which worried Tadashi. He had hoped that Hiro would have been excited about the new school work or that he at least liked one of his teachers. But, at the moment, it seemed as if, even if he had, he wasn't in the mood to share. And Tadashi respected that. But he also couldn't let the matter just drop. If Hiro started the year off in a bad place, where would he end up by the time finals rolled around?

Tadashi glanced at Hiro, who had yet to move from his blank stare out the window.

He figured that if Hiro wanted to talk, he'd talk. But if things started to look bad, Tadashi promised himself that he would step in. After all, he had told his parents that he would always look after his little brother from the day that he was born…

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

The moment that Tadashi parked Aunt Cass's car, Hiro stumbled out the door and grabbed his backpack from the trunk, immediately heading for the third floor of the café there after. As he walked through the café's door, a few of the regular customers greeted him kindly then continued on with their conversations. Hiro acknowledged them but hurriedly headed for the stairs, knowing that his aunt would come out any second and excitedly ask him how his day was. And Hiro really didn't want to talk about it.

But, as luck was not with him on that very day, Aunt Cass came bounding out of the baking room with a tray full of delicious smelling dishes.

"Oh hey honey! Oh my gosh! Tell me about your first day!" She squealed as she bounded over to Hiro, while trying to keep the food from falling off the tray.

"Oh, uh, h-hey, Aunt Cass!" Hiro squeaked as she nearly squished the life out of him in a large bear hug. "It, uh, was great! Yeah! Uh, don't you have to serve those?"

She gasped suddenly remembering that she had, indeed, a platter full of food, still waiting to be served to hungry customers. "Oh my gosh! You're right! You're right! Okay! I'm gonna make something special tonight and you can tell me all about it!"

Hiro nervously chuckled as his aunt almost collided with a customer just walking in the door, but breathed a sigh of relief when both managed to avoid each other. He turned on his heels and continued on with his objective to get to his room.

Hiro dropped his pack on the floor and flopped onto his bed, face first. Kicking his shoes off, he rolled over to face the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about the smile that Tommy kept giving him. It freaking him out and gave him a feeling of dread. And the way that the students keep whispering? He couldn't help but think it was about him… And the teachers! Oh, the teachers! Just had to make it worse! Every time they had a question, the called on him, hand raised or not. Every time! Did they want to make him suffer from the humiliation?

A knock interrupted his thoughts. Hiro raised his head up off the mattress and stared at his brother who stared back.

"The teachers." Said Hiro, with a complete seriousness to his voice and a blank stare on his face.

"What about 'em?"

"They're…" Hiro narrowed his eyes for the full effect then widened them for the look of complete discovery. "Evil. Completely. Evil." He quickly nodded his head once as to confirm the thought, then let his head drop back down to the mattress.

Tadashi burst out laughing and held his stomach as he sat down on the edge of Hiro's bed.

"Funny bonehead, but I doubt it."

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

"It's true." said Hiro, with full amazement in his voice as he stared at the ceiling with wide eyes in order to make his act all the more dramatic.

Tadashi chuckled as he laid out across Hiro's bed, propped up on his elbows.

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

Tadashi watched with a smile as Hiro turned his head to face him.

"They did _this_ to me."

"Did what?"

"THIS!" Hiro yelled dramatically as he pulled the skin on his cheekbones down to make his eyes bigger and stuck out his tongue at his brother.

"Woah, that's so cool!" Tadashi said with mock excitement. "You've become a real boy! Your wish has come true!"

"Hey!"

Tadashi beamed with a smile, and laughed out loud.

Hiro gave a small, but genuine smile, and soon joined in with the laughter.

Later that night, after they had both finished their homework, the boys sat up in their room, silently paying attention to their own projects. Tadashi was working on the beginning plans of a new project, a prototype for a robot that could identify different types of illnesses and hopefully suggest a cure, though he wasn't having much luck. As he concentrated on the equations to make identification possible for the types of blood cells one had, he was disturbed by a quick yelp from across the room.

Looking up with a start, Tadashi watched as Hiro hopped around on one foot and flopped onto his bed while holding the other.

"Ow, stupid wrench doesn't have a grip…" He rubbed his foot in an act to make the pain subside, but Tadashi could see from where he was, that his foot was already starting to grow red and a little swollen where the tool had hit.

"I'll get you an ice pack." Tadashi said, jumping up from his seat on his bed. He went down to the second floor and filled a plastic bag with ice and wrapping it in a dish towel. He add a little amount of cold water so that the ice didn't poke at Hiro's foot too much and headed back upstairs.

"Here." Tadashi placed the cold bag onto Hiro's foot as Hiro looked up at him with a look of gratitude on his face.

"Thanks Tadashi."

Tadashi smiled at his brother. "It's late and we've got school tomorrow, why don't we get to sleep?" he suggested.

Hiro reluctantly nodded, and Tadashi pulled back the covers so that Hiro could climb in.

"Night Tadashi." Hiro said with a sudden tone of sleepiness in his voice.

"Night Hiro." Replied Tadashi, with a ruffle to his hair as he stood from the bed.

"No… touchie…" Hiro said almost fast asleep.

Tadashi picked up the wrench that Hiro had dropped on the floor and went to put it back on his desk. As he was about to hop into his own bed, Tadashi saw some of the blueprints and plans for what Hiro had been working on. He moved closer and studied the plans.

Was that… boots for the cat? Tadashi raised an eyebrow in confusion and curiosity. Rocket boots… for their cat… Mochi… the one who didn't even like the third floor due to how far away the ground was from the windows…

He had to admit, his brother had a crazy mind. Definitely not one of a normal eleven year old, that was for sure, but, the again, who _else_ could be a child genius like Hiro could? He was one in a million, that was for sure.

Tadashi smiled and headed off to bed.

* * *

><p>A.N. Ohmahgawd. I'm so tired guyz. So imam post this now and edit it later… wait… that might not be a good idea… naw, I'll let u guys let me know if theres any missin words and suck :P I shall come back tomorrow and revise but for now, imma post this so that I can ensnare ya'll in mah writing trap and make you read mah story! MUHAHAHA!<p>

*cough* Sooo yeah, not much happening here but I thought it would be good to establish a little bit of where Hiro and Tadashi are in their brotherly relationship at this point in the story before everything goes dowwwn. Yeah. So. Hope you liked.

Ya.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N.I just realized that the BH6 wiki doesn't tell us how old Tadashi is… So imma say that he's about six years older than Hiro just for the purpose of this fanfic So, about 17.

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

"Ow…" Hiro muttered to himself as he landed on the cold gym floor.

"Hamada! Get your butt back in the game! You just lost _another_ point for your team!" Yelled the gym teacher with a furious blow into his whistle he held between his teeth.

Hiro hated dodge ball. It was just like the clichéd teen movies where the weak always got picked on when the teacher had his or her back turned, and they got pummeled with dozens of red bouncy balls. And that was exactly what was happening to Hiro at that exact moment except, instead of sitting out for the rest of the game after being hit, your entire team lost a point and nobody was tagged out. Not to mention that his new high school bullies were on the opposite team and always seemed to have a few balls to throw.

Tommy, the one who had whipped the ball at Hiro and hit him in the stomach, gave Hiro a devious smile as he turned to his friends with a laugh to say something that Hiro couldn't make out.

The raven haired boy muttered under his breath and glanced at the electronic clock on the wall as he climbed to his feet, knowing that he'd be sore tomorrow. Ten more minutes. More like ten more hours. Luckily, it was a Friday and Hiro only had two more classes to go after gym, and one of them included science.

After another few knockouts later, the teacher sent the class to go get changed in the locker rooms before the next class.

Hiro let out a sigh of relief as he rubbed his newly aching arm from the last round, and headed for his locker.

After rotating the dial on his lock and opening up his locker, he pulled out his clothes and turned to head for the bathroom to change but was suddenly interrupted in the action.

The brown curly haired boy towered over the eleven year old and leaned down into his face, causing Hiro to back up against his open locker.

"H-hey guys. What uh, what's up?" Hiro laughed nervously.

"I've got a little favor to ask _Hamada_."

"O-oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I've got a major _project _due Monday and I was wondering if you could help me out."

"Help out…how?"

"Well now, ya see, for math class, I have to find out how long it takes for a wimp to escape from a locker, and I was wondering if you could help."

"Uh, yeah, no, I uh, have to-"

With an unfinished sentence in his mouth, Hiro was shoved into his own locker and hit his head with a loud thud. One of Tommy's mates slammed the locker door and put the lock back on it.

"Good luck figuring that one out genius." Hiro heard one say.

"Wait! You can't do this!" He squeaked.

As he heard their footsteps growing fainter, he knew he was all alone in the room and panic crept up behind him.

How was he going to get out? Would anyone find him? He knew that he was going to miss the last two classes of the day. What would Tadashi think? The first Friday of school and he had already been stuffed in a locker. He was so weak…

Suddenly, the walls of the locker felt like they were closing in. It was getting smaller. Where had all the air gone? He had to hold his breath to last on the little oxygen he had!

No! There were small slits in the locker that let air in and out so that they didn't get too smelly from the clothes. He wouldn't run out of air.

_Breathe_. He told himself. _Don't have a panic attack here. Not right now!_

He shuddered as he thought of spending the night here because no one had found him. What would Tadashi do? Would he scream? Yell? Pound on the locker door? No. He wouldn't have even been in this mess. How did this even happen? When had the bullying started?

Hiro's head pounded with unanswerable questions.

"_Hiro Hamada, please come to the main office, Hiro Hamada."_

How long had he been here? So, they _were _looking for him. How much longer would he be in there?

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

"_Hiro Hamada, please come to the main office, Hiro Hamada."_

That was the third time Hiro had been called. Where was he? Maybe he'd been taking a test, or the class he was in was watching a movie on the highest volume and they couldn't hear it. But Tadashi felt a gut wrenching feeling in his stomach and knew that wasn't true.

There was only ten minutes left of the period, but Tadashi squirmed in his seat, barely focusing on the teachers lecture, trying to figure out what Hiro could possibly have done.

"Mr. Hamada!"

Tadashi looked up and saw the teacher staring at him.

"The office just called. They want you down in the guidance office."

Tadashi blinked in surprise. The guidance office? Was it because of Hiro?

"There isn't much time left in the period, bring your belongings with you."

Tadashi nodded and quickly packed up his notes while his fellow students whispered and wondered why Tadashi was being sent down.

"Have a good weekend Mr. Thomson." Tadashi said over his shoulder as he left the room.

The senior hurried to the guidance office, eager to see what this was about. When he entered, he found his brother seated next to a middle aged woman with black hair that flowed over her shoulders with his head down, hair shielding his face from Tadashi's view.

"Mr. Hamada?" The woman asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm Mrs. Metz, the head counselor. Please, come with me."

She lead him into a small office, presumably a counseling room, with many encouraging posters on the wall. She nodded to a chair at a small round table, indicating for him to sit. She sat down at the opposite side of the table so that she was facing him directly.

Tadashi waited for her to begin, but she simply reached for a water bottle that was on the table and took a drink from it.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "So… What's this about?"

Mrs. Metz capped off the water bottle and set it down on the table.

"Mr. Hamada, has Hiro had any problems with school in the past?"

"No… aside from the work being too easy, he hasn't told me anything…"

She nodded. "Well, one of our janitors found your brother locked in his gym locker, just fifteen minutes ago."

Tadashi stared at her in shock. "What?"

"Are you sure that he hasn't had any problems in the past? Did he come home with any unexplained bruises? Has he recently been depressed?"

Tadashi shook his head, both as an answer and in disbelief. Who would do that to his brother? Why hadn't he told Tadashi that he was being bullied?

"Hiro says that he tripped and fell into his locker, and when he tried to get out, he accidently closed the door on himself, but the story doesn't add up. His locker had also been locked from the outside, but he won't say anything more."

Tadashi nodded slowly. "So you're saying someone's bullying my brother?"

"I wanted to let you know to keep an eye out on your brother. These things don't happen often, but when it does, it can lead to extreme things. I'll be in contact with Hiro; I think it wise to include him in counseling, at least to find out what really happened, if not to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

"Okay…"

Mrs. Metz noticed Tadashi's expression of worry. "Why don't the two of you head home and take the weekend to relax. I'll dismiss you from your classes."

Tadashi nodded and stood. "Thank you."

The counselor nodded and added with a smile, "Please leave the door open on your way out."

* * *

><p>A.N Okay sooo… not how I planned it but… it's okay. Lemme know what you think! Btw, imma mostly update during the weekends just cause I have more time but occasionally, ill update during the week.<p>

Also, Thanks for all the encouraging reviews guys! Never had this many on Deviantart for my writings and Im gonna try to keep this story up! Keep reviewing and thx!


	4. Chapter 4

Hiro's P.O.V

Hiro heard Tadashi thank the counselor before walking into the waiting area where Hiro sat with his head down, staring at his shoe laces. He expected Tadashi to break down right there and give Hiro a lecture on something about clumsiness or whatnot. But to his surprise, Tadashi only ruffled his hair in an act to get the child's attention.

"Common bonehead, we're being let out early." His brother said with lightness in his voice. Hiro glanced up at him and saw him flash a warming smile his way before standing and grabbing his backpack off the floor.

Tadashi led the way out to the parking lot where their borrowed Aunt's car sat. Neither boy said a word until they hopped into the car and buckled up.

"I don't think Aunt Cass will be happy to hear that we're practically skipping our last classes, even if we were excused, so how 'bout we avoid telling her and go out for some ice cream till school lets out before we go home?"

Hiro, avoiding eye contact with his brother, nodded. He wouldn't mind a treat, especially after spending twenty minutes stuck in a disgusting gym locker, only to be found by a surprised looking janitor after he had heard Hiro's fiddling with the door from the inside in an attempt to get out. But he didn't want Tadashi to know that he had actually been shoved inside… He would just go all mushy on him, demand to know who did it to him, and make things worse by talking some 'sense' into them. Sense that would eventually come and bite Hiro in the butt for snitching on the bullies and only create more unwanted events such as today.

So, why bother his brother and make him worry if only to make things worse?

No, he would rather keep making up lies and acting like a complete ditz instead of letting his family find out.

They drove in silence, aside from the small talk that Tadashi tried to make in order to cheer up his younger brother. Hiro didn't really feel up for a chat. He just wished the day would end so that he could forget everything that happened earlier on.

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

That night, the brothers sat up in their shared room together. Hiro had immediately flopped into bed and pulled the covers over his head right after dinner though Tadashi couldn't be sure if he was asleep or not. Either way, the seventeen year old was glad that his kid brother was getting some rest, especially after 'the accident' with the locker earlier that day. He must have been exhausted.

And yet, his brother never ceased to amaze him. Hiro suddenly flung the covers off of his scrawny body and ran down the stairs to the second floor while Tadashi just stared after his brother, unsure of how to react of the sudden outburst. He continued to stare at the stairs, where his brother's hair had disappeared from sight and listened as heavy footsteps ran past the kitchen and into the bathroom. A few moments later, Tadashi heard the toilet flush and the sink run before the eleven year old rushed back up the stairs and practically jumped onto his bed, scrambling back under the covers.

Tadashi could only stare at his brother with his mouth slightly open. Had Hiro always acted that hyper? Tadashi tried to explain it to himself, but the only thing he could think of was _Wut… just happened…_

Tadashi shook his head in disbelief and considered confronting the boy about the incident while he was still awake, but he decided to wait until tomorrow, when the little knucklehead had calmed down and didn't have so much stress on his shoulders. Maybe he would take him out somewhere so that they could have some one on one chatting time…

Or not… Tadashi remembered the promise that he made to Aunt Cass about going out shopping that morning, not only for household supplies, but also for baking supplies for both the café and the kitchen. That meant double the supplies, and double the time it would take to get everything. Meaning that he would have to wait until later that day to try to get his brother to fess up, or at least let his concerns out on Tadashi.

Tadashi would rather talk with him sooner than later, but tomorrow couldn't be helped. Aunt Cass was running desperately low on her favorite granola bars that she crumbled and put into her yogurt almost every day with breakfast, and when she didn't have her special yogurt, she was a monster, and wouldn't stop complaining about it until she got it.

Tadashi sighed and snuggled into his bed, trying to get to sleep early so that he could leave for the supermarket even earlier as to not provoke the yogurt eating monster that was currently watching a movie with Mochi downstairs.

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

Tadashi had left to go grocery shopping earlier that morning, and as soon as he heard Tadashi drive off in their Aunt's car, he got dressed and headed down the stairs. He planned on going to the robot shop, called Robop about a dozen blocks away, or twenty minutes by walking.

"Hey sweetie!" Called Aunt Cass when she spotted Hiro coming down the stairs to the café. She was currently taking the chairs down off the tables and setting up shop, getting ready for the morning rush, but stopped to give Hiro a 'good morning' hug.

"Morning Aunt Cass." Hiro said, returning her hug.

"Want some breakfast? I'm gonna make some scrambled eggs in a little while. I figured you might be hungry."

Hiro shook his head, "No, I'm okay Aunt Cass. I was actually gonna go to Robop and grab some stuff for my new project." He said showing her a twenty he had saved up over the past month. "Won't buy much, but I only need scraps."

"Hon, Tadashi just left! He could have driven you!"

"It's okay Aunt Cass. I kinda just want to go for a walk." He said smiling, trying to convince her to let him go and showing her the gap in his front two teeth without realizing it.

Cass stared at him for a moment and then squealed. "Awe, you are just too cute! Who can't resist that face! Alright, but be careful! You may act like you're a mature adult, but I know you can't help giving into your childish side! And I'll have breakfast waiting for when you get back!"

"Thanks Aunt Cass!" Hiro called over his shoulder as he opened the door of the café and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

True to his word, Hiro headed towards Robop, but due to all the morning traffic from those trying to get to work, it took him about forty minutes to get there, due to the fact that all the streets he needed to cross were crowded with cars and the cross walks were mostly uncrossable, even after hitting the button that signaled that a red light was need for a pedestrian to cross at a crosswalk.

When he eventually got to the shop, it already had two or three costumers looking through the wares. Hiro browsed for a few minutes before finding the parts or the material to make parts that he needed and headed up to the counter to pay for the little amount of supplies that he had plucked off the shelves. By the time he left, he only had 37 cents in his hand and he sighed. He was going to have to make the scraps and the mini parts last the whole month before he could earn more money from his monthly allowance, unless he could find some extras in his shared room.

He shoved the money in his pocket and looked in his bag, realizing just how little he was going to have to survive on in the next month. As he round a corner to head back to the café, Hiro walked right into a light pole, stumbling backwards and dropping his bag in shock. He didn't remember a pole being there!

He looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise as he realized that what he had ran into wasn't a light pole, but in fact, one of Tommy's mates, the one that had shoved him into his own gym locker just the day before. As the large, freshman athlete looked down at his shirt, which was now covered with an energy drink that he had been drinking when the too collided, Hiro shrunk back in terror.

The larger boy looked up at Hiro.

"Do you even realize how much that drink costs? And now I'm wearing a stained shirt!" He threw the emptied energy bottle to the sidewalk. "You are _so_ dead Hamada!" The freshman yelled, lunging for the small eleven year old.

Hiro yelped as he dodged the big mass, and snagged his bag of scraps that he had dropped on the pavement while rushing past it, running away from his pursuer.

While Hiro's attacker was extremely big and strong, (as he had found out only a day earlier) Hiro was faster, even while carrying a bag full of metal, and soon, Hiro lost the bully and stopped in what looked like a back alley to catch his breath.

Gulping in air, Hiro looked around, realizing that he had never been in this part of San Fransokyo, when he heard a sound he wasn't familiar with. Curious, Hiro headed towards the strange sound, soon realizing that the sound was metal crashing against metal.

Getting closer to the sound, Hiro soon discovered a small group of people crowding together in a small circle. And in the middle, he could make out the shape of two small bots, fighting for their lives.

* * *

><p>A.N. Yup. Totally just happened. I was going to put Hiro finding bot fighting later on in the story but then got a great idea about *censored talking due to spoilers* which will then cause the brothers *censored talking due to spoilers* Like, yup. I know. It's crazy. *not really* but I'm still gonna do it!<p>

Anyways! Read and review! Annnd if anyone wants to contribute some ideas for later on in the story that they want to see happen (and I find that it fits with what I'm planning) I'd be willing to put it in the story!

Hiro: She's making this up as she goes.

Me: Whu-what! No…No I'm not!

Tadashi: Suuuuuure you aren't

Me: … You do realize that _I'm_ the one writing the story and I could essentially make you two do anything that I wanted, whether you like it or not?

Hamada bros: *Blushing* GOMENAZAI!

Hiro: She totally has a plan and isn't asking for help for later ideas!

Tadashi: Not. At. All.

Me: Yeah. Das wut I thought.


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. Thanks Purplaz Miner for giving me an idea that I have put in the back of my head for later use!

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

The crowd cheered and Hiro hesitantly moved in to get closer and watch the fight.

As Hiro entered the circle, the people around him gave him strange looks, but quickly turned their attention back to the fight.

Another roar of excitement sounded as Hiro reached the middle, squeezing past the last of the watchers and found two men, deep in concentration, trying to destroy the other's bot with their own.

A bot that looked big and clunky, with green and blue colored metal and a clunky samurai helmet for a head, dashed forward with a sword sprouting from where its hand should have been. It lunged at the other bot; another large piece of metal that had no color to it other than the original metallic color. But the defending bot brought a wide, sturdy looking arm up to block the attack while bringing its other hand around, holding a large dagger to connect with the other bot's middle half. The colored bot barely had enough time to block the attack before getting knocked over by the full force and being charged upon by the metallic bot.

Hiro's heart raced with excitement and his face lit up with amazement as he watched the two bots smash at each other until, eventually, the metallic bot with the dagger cut through the other bot with a large sweep of its hand.

Then the fight was over.

The people around him groaned and cheered as a man came out of the crowd carrying a small jar full of money. The man with the remaining bot greedily grabbed at the cash when the top to the container was taken off and waved it in an act of victory as the crowd cheered.

Wait, money? Hiro shrunk back into the crowd as he realized that he had just ventured into an illegal betting game. If Tadashi knew that he had just taken part in watching the sport, he would flip and go on a lecturing rampage that would give the young brother nightmares for days.

Once free from the grasp of the crowd, Hiro briskly turned his back and started walking away from the alleyway, eager to leave the fight behind him. His teachers had taught him that anything illegal never ended without consequence, and the young boy didn't doubt it. In fact, the thought of being in jail sickened the child and soon after, he headed back to the café with his bought scrapes in his hand.

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

Tadashi finished unloading the borrowed car and brought the last of the bought items into the café so that Aunt Cass could store them away. Aunt Cass thanked him and planted a kiss on his cheek as she took the last groceries from him and allowed him to head up to his room where he found Hiro, struggling with a panicked Mochi in his arms.

"Hiro!"

Hiro, distracted from his struggle when he looked up, cried out when the cat scratched his arm and ran towards the stairs in an attempt to get away from the injured eleven year old.

"Mochi! Come back!" yelled the raven haired boy, standing to rush after the cat, but Tadashi caught Hiro in his arms as he tried to run past and planted him firmly in front of him.

"Hey!" Hiro said with a scowl, trying to look behind his brother in a last search for the spotted cat.

"Hiro! What do you think you were doing?! You could have hurt Mochi!" Tadashi said angrily, gripping Hiro's arm to keep him from moving away.

"Ow! Tadashi, you're hurting me!" Hiro said with tears in his eyes.

Tadashi looked down and saw a small trickle of blood run down the arm that Tadashi was gripping. With surprise on his face, the older Hamada let go of his brother's arm and apologized, realizing that Mochi had scratched him badly, then ran down the stairs to grab some bandages and a wet cloth to clean out the wound.

With the two brothers both sitting on Hiro's bed in silence, Tadashi took the moment to strike up the conversation that had been playing on his mind since the day before.

"Hiro…" Tadashi said, focusing on cleaning out the scratches.

Hiro stayed silent with tears in his eyes, looked as if to say something, then thought better of it and closed his mouth.

"I didn't mean to hurt Mochi, Tadashi…" Hiro said softly, guilt in his voice.

Tadashi shook his head. "Mochi's the one who got you Hiro." He said with a smile.

Hiro looked up and Tadashi continued.

"Hiro, you know I'll always be there for you, no matter what, right?" The brother ran a hand through his hair and continued.

"If it's something here at home, robot work, school stuff…" Tadashi glanced at the younger Hamada to watch his reaction, but the child didn't respond.

Sighing, he finished wrapping Hiro's arm and was about to go put the supplies away when a soft voice stopped him from leaving.

"If it's about yesterday, then don't worry." Hiro looked down at his feet. "The counselor must've said something… but nothing happened. Really." Hiro looked up at his brother. "I'm just a klutz…"

Tadashi returned to his brother's bed, kneeled down, and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Hey!" Hiro cried out shyly and Tadashi smiled, knowing that he could trust Hiro with telling him the truth.

"Common bonehead, you gotta go apologize to Mochi."

"Why should I? Mochi's the one that nearly scratched me to death!" Hiro questioned with wide eyes.

"Firstly, it's only one scratch, and secondly, you're the one who provoked him by basically kidnapping him to the third floor…"

"Yeah, well… how do you even apologize to an animal?" Hiro asked with a frown on his face.

"You give it food." Tadashi laughed out loud.

* * *

><p>A.N. Okay! Okay! Short chapter, I know! But it's a school night and I still have homework to do (at 10:30 pm) and I haven't posted in two days so I figured, wth. Imma go ahead and post it now.<p>

Still open to any ideas that you're willing to throw my way! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hiro's P.O.V

"I said give me the money you owe!"

Hiro was shoved into the brick wall and groaned, holding his shoulder as he slid into a sitting position on the cement. "And I told you that I don't owe you anything." He replied with a shaky breath.

Hiro looked up at the larger boy with a glare in his eyes as he leaned on the wall for support as he stood. School had just ended for the day, when he had found himself being dragged to the side of the school by the junior, with no one else in sight. Nor did he have any money to get him out of the situation and for some reason, the larger teen thought that the young boy genius owed him almost fifty dollars.

The junior apparently didn't like Hiro's response, quickly moving in to punch the boy. Hiro's eyes widened as he felt himself fall to the ground and a searing pain flared up the left side of his face, gagging when he felt a kick to his stomach.

"You better have the money tomorrow Hamada." The junior snarled and gave an extra kick for a good measure.

Hiro wasn't sure when the junior had left. All he could see was black spots dancing on the pavement in front of him. His aching stomach churned and cried out in agony as the child tried to breathe.

_God_ He thought _Why do they all have to be so strong?!_

More time passed but Hiro wasn't sure how much as he lay, curled up on the ground, trying to regain his vision and steady his breathing.

Hiro moved to stand on his feet, but hissed when the stabbing pain in his stomach returned and the throbbing in his head worsened, and leaned against the wall for support, staying like that for a few moments. Slowly, Hiro pushed himself off the wall and made his way over to the papers that were strewn across the ground from when the junior had roughly pulled him aside. Hiro slowly picked them all up, and put them sloppily into a notebook before grabbing his backpack and heading for the empty parking lot where Tadashi was, hopefully, still waiting.

Hiro could feel Tadashi's aggravation before he saw it on his face. Tadashi was seated in the driver's seat, hands on the steering wheel, knuckles white, and eyes glaring straight ahead. When Hiro got into the passenger's seat, Tadashi didn't even look over at the kid.

"Do you realize how long I've been waiting?" Tadashi asked silently still staring straight ahead. When he got no answer, he continued, this time, a little louder.

"Hiro! You were in the school for over a half hour! You know I told you that I have to walk Mrs. Caighlan's dog while she's visiting her aunt this week! The dog barely keeps it in when I get there right after school, and now it's probably rolling in its feces in the house!" Tadashi said, as if using biology words would make the situation sound more serious.

The young Hamada shrunk back into his seat, but it didn't stop him from lashing back at his brother.

"_Oh_, I am _so_ sorry that you actually have to pick up some _poop_ like you've done for the _past week._" Hiro growled sarcastically, while trying not to puke on the floor of the car when the throbbing in his head began to worsen. He knew it was a horrible comeback that didn't make much sense but he didn't care at that moment. He was more focused on keeping his stomach from erupting.

Tadashi glared out the windshield. "Unbelievable."

Tadashi started the engine with a turn of the key and moved the car forwards. Hiro grimaced as they went over the speed bumps in the parking lot and held his stomach, trying not to double over in pain. Just the two kicks had been enough for Hiro to know that he had gained a large bruise that sent shockwaves through his body every time he moved. Hiro tried to keep his brother from seeing the bump that had already been forming from under his hairline, but it was easy enough considering the older Hamada refused to look at him for the whole car ride.

Instead of going straight to the café, Tadashi took them to Mrs. Caighlan's house, where the dog could be heard barking from the inside.

"Stay here." Tadashi said forcefully as he went to go check on the dog.

Hiro's head pounded and when Tadashi got out of the car, he gave a sigh of relief as he carefully laid his head on the head rest, moving the adjustable seat so that he was comfortably lying at a reclined angle.

At one point, Hiro had fallen asleep and was awoken by his brother, who had been shaking his shoulder gently. Hiro grimaced as his brother squeezed his bad shoulder and his stomach gave an angry stab to Hiro's nerves.

"Hiro! Can you hear me?" Came Tadashi's fuzzy voice. Hiro groggily opened his eyes as a groan escaped his lips. His vision was blurred but he could make out his brother in the opened doorway of the car's passenger side, with a look of worry on his face.

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

Tadashi had come out of the house, after finding that the dog had kept everything in until he arrived, and opened the car on the driver's side. He was about to get in and apologize to his younger brother for being so angry when he noticed the young boy asleep in his seat. Tadashi smiled at the sight of his little brother acting his age instead of a child prodigy.

But the smile was short lived when Tadashi noticed a small trickle of blood barely dripping from the child's hairline, and a large bump from the source.

"Hiro?" Tadashi said, hearing the own worry in his voice. When his younger brother didn't respond, Tadashi ran to the passenger's side and opened up the car door.

"Hiro!" Still nothing.

Tadashi took his brother by the shoulder, hesitating to shake him slightly. But he needed to know if his brother was okay. So, Tadashi began to move the boy ever so slightly while calling out his name. And it seemed to work.

The boy's head rolled to the side before his face twisted in pain. Tadashi immediately stopped, but kept his hand on his shoulder, to keep him from falling out of the car.

Hiro opened his eyes slightly, and tried to focus on his older brother.

"Tada…shi?" Hiro groaned, ever so silently.

The older Hamada's heart nearly skipped a beat as he moved to hold his brother close.

"Hey. I'm here. It's ok." Tadashi spoke softly, gently running his hand through the child's hair, while trying to find any other head injuries. Finding none but the one, Tadashi kept stroking his hair, careful to avoid the one area near his hairline, before unbuckling him and laying him in the back of the car across the backseats.

Tadashi scrambled to the driver's seat and started the engine in a panic, before driving his brother to the hospital.

* * *

><p>A.N. Yup. Just got a little taste of… not really action… And wow… this one is short too. I was gonna continue, but I want to do a time skip (like a day or two) so I thought that I would end it here. Don't worry! Next chapter will be coming soon! Oh! and btw, People can get bad concussions from kicks to the stomach and from the head so, while it may seem that Hiro's injuries are far worse than they should be, I find it more realistic like this. Speaking of...<p>

Hiro! My gods, I am _so_ sorry! Please please be okay!

Wait… I'm the writer. I already know what's gonna happen! Wait… what's that in the… OH CRAP! NO! Tadashi please don't hurt me!

Tadashi: [insert a beat down on the author from the character]

Me: Right then! I'm starting the next chapter right now! And you shouldaveid … *faints*

Tadashi: Oops…


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. omg sry I didn't post this sooner guys! I had no idea where to go with this and stuff… Also! Should I skip some time and get to main events, or would you rather read some fillers in between events? Lemme know, annnnnd onto the story!

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

He was surrounded by complete darkness. He could feel himself in a reclined position with his head resting on something soft and a soft ringing filled his ears.

Hiro tried to sit up but pain flared through him. Why was everything so dark? Where was he? What happened? Where was Tadashi and Aunt Cass? Why did he hurt so much?

Hiro felt so small and vulnerable that he couldn't breathe. As the panic set in, he unconsciously called out for his brother and soon, the calls turned into screams.

A bright light lit up Hiro's crumbling world which made Hiro scream even louder for his brother. He couldn't see anything but white light and felt gentle hands holding him down when he tried to move. He struggled and screamed for his brother uncontrollably until exhaustion took him over and he could barely move. His screams turned into sobs which shook his entire body that sent shockwaves to his nerves.

The ringing in his head soon subsided and Hiro could make out muffled voices around him in between his quiet crying. Opening his worn and tired eyelids, he realized that the bright lights had subsided and he was surrounded by two women and a man, all dressed in an ugly green. It took him a moment to realize that they were doctors.

Their muffled voices spoke in calming tones as Hiro lay in a hospital bed. He turned his head to look at the room. It was completely white with the exception of a wooden table and some yellow chairs surrounding it. Looking out the large window, there was darkness. Was it the middle of the night?

Hiro barely noticed when a mask was put over his nose and mouth until he was almost asleep due to the medical gas.

The next time Hiro woke up, the hospital room was filled with day light and he felt his hand being squeezed in a viper-like grip. Looking over at the hand holding his, he found it belonged to his Aunt, who held her head in her other hand, looking down at the hospital floor.

"Hey Aunt Cass." Hiro croaked out, his voice sounding different from its normal tone.

His aunt looked up at him so quickly that he thought she snapped her neck. She jumped to her feet and cuddled Hiro in a big bear hug, to which Hiro winced. He still felt sore all over but he was grateful for the hug.

"Sweetie," His aunt choked out and he felt warm tears drop onto his shoulder. "I was so worried. I'm so glad you're ok."

She released him from the bear hug and sat back down, tucking some hair behind her ear before she continued.

"When I got a call from Tadashi that he had brought you to the hospital, I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what was wrong, I…" She sighed. "I was so worried." She said a second time.

"Sorry…" Hiro whispered.

Aunt Cass jumped up again and gave him another hug. "Last hug…" She whispered in his ear before standing straight and regaining her composure.

"What happened to you?" She asked with a frown that finally formed on her face. "How in the world did you get a concussion _and _a broken rib?"

Hiro shrugged. "Don't remember."

Cass's face softened as worry started to etch across her face again and Hiro knew that she was thinking he had amnesia.

With a sigh, she turned for the door and said, "I'm gonna go get some food and call Tadashi. He's at the café, holding up the fort, but I think he wanted to see you right when you woke up."

It had been a week since Hiro had been released from the hospital. He had stayed in the shared room for most of the time by himself, with the exceptions of meals and bathroom breaks. Tadashi was at school for most of the day and Aunt Cass was always running the café.

During the first two or three days that Hiro was home, both of his family members had repeatedly asked how Hiro had ended up the way he had, Tadashi more so than his aunt, but Hiro relentlessly replied that he couldn't remember.

But in reality, he did.

He remembered the intimidating junior, the extreme pain that shot through his body, the anger Tadashi held in his eyes as he drove them away from the school...

Hiro shook his head, returning to reality.

Tadashi wouldn't be mad at him after what happened! Right?

The eleven year old sighed. His head was throbbing again and his rib hadn't completely healed yet. He shifted in his bed and tucked himself away under the covers, wishing that he had something to keep his mind off of his thoughts.

He lay there, feeling empty all over until his arms itched with the need to do something.

Sighing, he kicked the cover off of his legs and stood, only to fall face first to the floor with a loud _thump!_

"Ow…" Hiro groaned and held his rib cage. He turned on his back to face the bed and sat up, looking for what he had slipped on.

A sock.

_Figures_ he thought, reaching for it. He picked it up and stood, but then noticed something thrown under his bed. Bending down so that he was on the floor again, Hiro reached his hand under and grasped the object, dragging it out from under the bed, finding that it was his bag of scraps that he had bought only a little more than a week before. He gave a slight smile as he remembered what he had bought them for.

Hiro excitedly emptied the pieces of metal onto his desk and threw the bag behind him onto the floor. He sat down at his desk, cracked his knuckles, and began to work, occasionally stealing tools and pieces of metal from Tadashi's side of the room.

Mid-day soon turned into evening and Hiro had almost finished his project when Tadashi first came up the stairs.

"I see you're feeling better." The eldest Hamada noted out loud.

Hiro heard his brother drop his book bag on his bed and walk over to watch his little brother work with the scraps.

"What… is that?" Tadashi asked, and Hiro could hear a hint of dread in his voice as he spoke.

"Nothin."

"It's obviously not 'nothing' Hiro."  
>"It's just a gift for Mochi."<br>"A gift?!"

"Yup. For scratching my arm off."

"Hiro!"  
>"What?"<p>

"…What… what is…'it'?"

Hiro sent a smirk behind him towards his brother. "You'll just have to find out. Just like Mochi."

"Hiro…" Tadashi said with a warning in his voice.

Hiro waved off the worrisome brother and continued his work.

He heard his brother sigh and walk away, the squeak of Tadashi's mattress when he sat down, and the unzipping of his backpack as he started his homework.

The two boys remained in silence as they worked until their aunt called them down for dinner.

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

Earlier that week, Tadashi had been called to Mrs. Metz's counseling room during one of his free periods. Before he had even entered, he knew why he had been called. Hiro hadn't been in school for three days and the school had been notified that he had been injured and unable to go to classes and she wanted to know why.

As he sat down in the office, she smiled and greeted him before getting straight to the point.

"Mr. Hamada," She had started with. "Do you know what caused your younger brother to receive his injuries?"

Tadashi, confused with the question, shook his head.

"I see." She looked down at her hands. "The head of security brought a tape to me yesterday after school had let out."

Tadashi's stomach started to drop.

"Although the incident with the locker was an accident, Hiro has been confronted a few times in the halls by some people in higher grades. Nothing physical, though Hiro _did_ look quite uncomfortable.

Now, I know that he certainly doesn't want a chaperone with him in the halls, who does? But I feel like Hiro needs to be watched over, rely on a friend to watch his back? Maybe even his brother?"  
>Tadashi nodded in understanding and waited for the oncoming sentence.<p>

"Mr. Hamada, we don't have any footage of Hiro getting injured on school property which makes the situation all the more dangerous in a manner of speaking. We don't know what might have happened, and your brother hasn't been willing to talk before which is why I feel like keeping a closer watch on him, just to make sure that he is feeling well, both physically and mentally, might be a good idea…"

Now, as Tadashi sat on his bed finishing his homework, he couldn't help but watch the younger Hamada work away at his project with a pain in his heart, imagining what his younger brother was going through.

* * *

><p>A.N. OMG GUYS! Over 100 followers! Thank you so so so so so much! And all the reviews! They're so encouraging! I just can't believe it! Thank you!<p>

OTL lame end to the chapter. REALLY lame. I know. I'm sorry. But damn! writers block! Plus, I was working on my room the whole weekend. (Basically redoing the whole thing.)

Also, thank you to: Emily (guest)(I hope you didn't get in too much trouble! xD), TheKreibae, Autumn (guest), and Purplaz Miner for the awesome ideas and reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. This chapter takes place about 3-4 weeks after the last but I had no idea on how to include that into this chapter without ruining the beginning :P

* * *

><p>Cue the Piano Guys playing Mission Impossible Music and Imaginary Visuals of a Mischievous Eleven Year Old.<p>

* * *

><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

Hiro woke in the rising sun's light, with his black hair flopped over his eyes. He silently rolled on his side, searching for the clock that lay on his desk nearby.

Saturday, 5:34 AM.

Perfect.

Hiro gave a small grin to himself. This was what he had been waiting for all week. He carefully pushed the covers off his legs, trying not to make a sound. If Tadashi woke, he wouldn't be able to execute his plan…

He gathered up the project he had shoved under his bed to keep from Tadashi's eye and carefully descended the steps to the main floor above the café.

He snuck past the dark kitchen and the small bathroom to Aunt Cass's bedroom door. Putting his ear up to the smooth wood, he listened to his Aunt's loud breathing. Making sure that it was evenly paced so that he knew she was dead asleep, he turned the knob as slowly as he could.

Peeking into the room, he saw a lump of body mass underneath blue shaded covers, slowly rising and falling. At the end of the bed, in a ball of fur, was Hiro's target. Tip-toeing into the room, he gently picked up the heavily sleeping cat and placed him in his arms in a crib-like position to keep him from wakening. Then he slowly made his way through the door and up to the third floor.

Hiro gently placed Mochi on his bed. With Mochi flopped on his side, Hiro was easily able to get his finished project on the cat's feet without him fully waking up.

Slowly moving back towards his desk, Hiro sat down and grabbed a controller, eagerly pressing the button that fired up the cat boots. As he controlled the thrusters to raise the cat off the bed, Mochi began to wake, and soon his widened eyes stared at the wooden floor, a few feet beneath him.

Before the frozen cat could make a sound, Hiro powered the thrusters so that the cat neared his brother's bed with a (failed) evil smile.

_Three…_

_ Two._

_ One!_

The youngest Hamada fell back in his chair, laughing at the sight before him. Tadashi, who had been laying on his stomach, had pushed himself up with a sudden jolt, after feeling the heat from the boots that were heating his back, and had hit the flying cat with his head. Now, after the rocket boots had been turned off, Tadashi sat up, rubbing his sore head, with a frightened Mochi clinging to his pajamas.

"Hiro…" Tadashi growled, the warning clearly received to Hiro who sat up and stopped laughing.

Jumping from under his covers, Tadashi raced for his brother, who now held a panicked look on his face.

Hiro jumped from his seat, gave a yell, and dashed for the stairs. The two Hamadas raced each other down to the second floor, where Tadashi finally managed to grab Hiro by his waist, and lightly pinned him to the ground where he started to playfully wrestle with the boy.

For a few moments, the two gave each other playful shoves on the ground, but it wasn't until Tadashi grabbed the middle of his younger brother's forearm that Hiro cried out in pain.

Clutching the throbbing area, Hiro quickly made a move to separate himself from his brother and stood, taking a few steps away. He turned his back to Tadashi and rubbed where the bruise that had formed earlier in the week due to being pushed around at school had been bothered by his brother's strong hands.

"Hiro?"

He felt a light hand take hold of his shoulder and turn him so that he was facing his brother's big brown eyes.

He tried to move away from his brother, but Tadashi held the eleven year old in a firm grip and stared into his younger brother's face.

"Hiro, look at me."

Hiro struggled more, desperately trying to avoid the upcoming questions.

"Hiro!" Tadashi gave a small but powerful shake in an attempt to get his brother's attention .

"No Tadashi!" Hiro said loudly, not risking a yell for fear of waking his aunt. Using his good arm, the boy forcefully shoved his brother away from him and to the ground. He shuffled away from him until his back was against the wall.

With the sudden urge to cry, Hiro slide down and sat on the floor, overwhelmed by the returning memories of what caused the bruising at school, only a day before.

_Hiro washed his hands at the bathroom sink and turned the faucet off when the soap was washed away. As he took the roll of paper towels in his hands, two juniors walked in._

_ "Well, look who we have here!" One of them sneered, and Hiro recognized him as the one who had demanded money from him a few weeks ago._

_ "I've been looking for you Hamada. Where's the money that you owe?"_

_ Hiro backed up slightly in fear, saying nothing to the older student._

_ "I told you what would happen if I didn't get it, didn't I?"_

_ "A-actually," Hiro stuttered with a nervous smile, glancing around for a possible escape. "you really didn't get to that point, you know, b-before you beat me u-"_

_ The young freshman gasped inwardly for air as he felt the familiar fist connect with his gut, and he fell to his knees before he could finish his sentience._

_ "No matter." Hiro heard him sneer. "I'll just show you."_

_ The junior fiercely grabbed Hiro's forearm, hard enough to leave a bruise, and dragged him to a bathroom stall. He pushed him to his knees, and Hiro's head came close to contact with the dirty seat before he reared up in panic, trying to get away._

_ "Ever taken a swim, Hamada?" The junior asked with a cruel laugh as he pushed the struggling freshman back into the stall._

"_No…" Hiro shook with dread. "Please, no!"_

"_Make sure you get some pictures!"_

_A strong hand gripped his tangled hair and brought him closer to the toilet and Hiro only managed a rushed breath before his head submerged in the toilet's water._

Hiro shook with tears streaming down his face as he huddled his arm against his stomach watching as Tadashi made his way over to him and shrunk back when Tadashi kneeled in front of him. He closed his eyes and waited for the oncoming questions and lecture.

But the only thing Tadashi did was wrap his arms around him and pull him close.

Hiro opened his brown eyes in surprise, unsure of whether or not he should welcome the gesture; so instead, he just sat there, neither pushing his brother away, nor returning the warm embrace.

"Hiro, what's going on?" Tadashi asked softly, just barely tightening his hug around the boy.

Hiro shook his head, not wanting his brother to hear his voice crack from his emotions.

"Okay…" he said soothingly in an attempt to calm Hiro down.

* * *

><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

The two brothers remained seated on the floor, until Tadashi shifted Hiro so that he sat, cradled, in his lap, like he used to when he was young. Stroking the tangled, shaggy hair that lay on top of his brother's head, he laughed.

"That was a dirty trick you played on Mochi and me."

He heard Hiro hiccup in a laugh and then sniffle as he hid his face from view.

"Pretty cool though… cat boots. Where did you even come up with the idea?" He wondered out loud, half attempting to get an answer from the younger boy but not expecting one.

He felt Hiro shrug and heard another sniffle.

"It's creative, I gotta give you that." He said with a smile.

They sat in silence again; Tadashi holding Hiro until Hiro was calm enough to stop the tears.

Giving a silent sigh, Tadashi reached around his brother's scrawny body, hoping that he wouldn't pull away, and gently took his hurt arm in his hands. He felt Hiro tense up against Tadashi's body, but he didn't make an attempt to get away. Tadashi carefully rolled up the sleeve of the sweatshirt that Hiro had been wearing over his night clothes and almost flinched when he saw the deep black and blue bruise that covered most of the boy's forearm.

"Hiro, how did this happen?" he asked quietly, as he wrapped a comforting arm around him.

Hiro cuddled into his brother and shook his head desperately.

"Please Hiro…"

"No." A muffled response came from Tadashi's shirt.

"Will you at least let me wrap and ice it?"

"…No."

"Hiro…" Tadashi said with a slight warning in his voice. He knew that it was probably insensitive, but Hiro's arm needed attention.

He could feel Hiro stiffen even more at the sound of his voice but then, as if finding that he wouldn't be able to argue his way out of this one, he slowly nodded his head.

Tadashi lifted his arms and allowed his younger brother to get up before he brought him to the bathroom and sat him down on the edge of the tub. He reached into the cabinet behind the bathroom mirror and brought out some bandages to wrap around his arm.

As Tadashi worked, they sat in silence, Hiro grimacing every time the bandage was wrapped too tightly. Every few minutes, Tadashi could feel the younger Hamada stare at him and then look away again, as if shocked by his brother's concern.

When they were done in the bathroom, they traveled back to the kitchen, where Tadashi made a home-made ice pack out of a plastic bag, some ice, and water, for Hiro's arm.

"Here." He said, gently placing it on the table in the kitchen that Hiro sat at.

"Thanks…" He said quietly, finding an interest in the table's surface.

Tadashi turned back to the kitchen counter, but then stopped in his tracks.

"Hiro, you can always talk to me if you want." He said reassuringly.

"'Kay."

Tadashi sighed.

"I'm gonna make breakfast for all three of us for a change." He said on a happier note. "You think Aunt Cass will have a heart attack when she finds out that she won't have to do any breakfast work for us?" He asked with a laugh.

Tadashi looked back to see his brother give him a smile. "Probably."

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><p>A.N. Big thanks to my friend who suggested a bathroom scene *similar to Percy Jackson… Hun, you are so upsessed.* *cough* so I thought I would appease her. xD<p>

Also, Tadashi trying to show Hiro that he's not alone, but Hiro not really giving in.

ANNND I haven't posted in like, 4 or 5 days so I figured that this chappy would be on the longer side, containing all dem feels. Which are like, none. xD Also, thank you to: A lot of people who I can't name cause it would exhaust me to type them all for all the amazing reviews! (I've been staring at my computer for three hours now, just writing and revising this chapter.)

Anyways, Happy late Thanksgiving annnd, I'll see ya'll for the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

A.N. Yup. Still alive. I just had a really hard time writing this. Mostly cause I didn't know where to start and go with it. I have a vague idea of where I wanna go but… not details xP And yes, this is the same day as in chapter 8

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><p>Hiro's P.O.V<p>

Hiro had traveled back up to his side of the room, memories and emotions swirling around his head. How could his brother care for him when no one else did? He had no friends. He was called a freak. He was made fun of. What was stopping Tadashi from doing the same thing? What if he only seemed to care for him? What if he did it out of habit, not brotherly love?

Hiro flopped face first onto his bed, instantly regretting it when his face was crushed by the mattress. He rolled onto his back, with his arms spread across the bed. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like the hundredth time that week. He closed his eyes and sighed.

What was he thinking? Tadashi was his brother. He still cared. Right? Isn't that why he held him and tried to help? Or was he just doing what any other would?

"Ugh!" Hiro's hands flew up to his face and covered his eyes in frustration and confusion.

Why was he such a mess up? He couldn't even understand his feelings.

The young raven haired boy sat up, sitting on the edge of his bed, hands hanging off the side. He needed to do something. Something to get his mind off of everything else.

Hiro practically jumped to his feet, hands twitching and eyes frantically darting around for something to do. He couldn't stand it anymore. He hadn't built anything in… forever? He'd been more focused on _not_ getting beaten to death in and around school during the day and how to avoid upcoming pummels during school at night.

Nearly ready to bolt around the room, he quickly gathered up what he could find. He even invaded Tadashi's side of the room. He quickly grabbed at scraps on the shelf above Tadashi's bed, and in doing so, knocked a large book from the shelf and right onto his foot.

Toppling over with a yelp, Hiro landed on the bed and grasped at his injured foot, turning to glare at the large brick that had fallen on him. But when he turned to see what book would have the nerve to jump out at him, he stopped.

_Callaghan's Laws of Robotics_.

Laws of robotics? There were laws to robotics? Hiro hesitantly brought a hand to the cover of the book, about to put the stupid thing back in its place, but instead, turned to the first page. Words swam on the piece of paper and it immediately caught Hiro's attention.

Glancing towards the stairs, knowing that Tadashi could find him at any time and give him a lecture about being in his side of the room, then scoot him out, Hiro closed the cover of the book and lugged it over to his side of the room. The sunlight from the midday sun shined on him as he dropped it on his bed, then hopped on himself, sat back, and dragged it onto his lap, before opening to page one again.

_Law One_…

By the time Tadashi came up to the third floor, Hiro had already read his way through most of the six hundred paged book. The young prodigy didn't look up from the words as his brother clomped up the last of the stairs and entered their room, nor when the eldest sat on the edge of Hiro's bed.

"Hiro, we need to talk." The boy in question flipped the page and started the next.

"Is that my book?" Hiro could feel the bed shift as Tadashi leaned in to get another look at the book to confirm that it belonged to him. He heard a barely audible sigh.

"Never mind…" Neither said a word for a few moments.

"Hiro, can I talk to you?" Hiro gave a grunt in response.

"I'm reading Tadashi."

"Yeah." The older Hamada said with a raised eyebrow. "I can see that."

More silence.

"Come on Hiro." Tadashi whined. Hiro looked up to see his brother give him a puppy dog look.

Hiro sighed but couldn't help but smirk. "You know that doesn't work on me big brother."

"There he is!" Tadashi said, jumping from the bed and spreading his arms in mock excitement "Hah hah!" He ran over to his brother's side and grasped his head under his arm, giving him a noogie.

"Hey!" Hiro slapped at his brother and pushed him away, looking up to see that he had put his hands in the air in mock surrender with a smile on his face. Hiro gave his best glare with a mix of a pout as he fixed his messy hair into a comfier mess.

"No touchie."

Tadashi chuckled as he sat down on Hiro's bed. "Well, at least I got your attention, knucklehead."

Hiro huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back on his pillows that were squished up against the headboard.

Hiro met Tadashi's eyes and immediately, the smile on Tadashi's face was gone.

"Hiro, we really need to talk."

"Yeah." Hiro laughed, close to sourly. "We never spend time together. You should totally help me with this new project that I'm working on and-" Hiro began to get up off his bed, secretly wanting to change the subject, but Tadashi gently pushed him back down.

"Hiro, I'm serious. You've been coming home with bruises each day and you even had to go to the hospital at one point! Please just tell me exactly what's going on?"

Hiro mentally cursed himself for rough-housing with Tadashi earlier that morning. Maybe he wouldn't have found out about the bruises if they hadn't played around.

"Nothing." Hiro said lamely, trying to think of a way out of the conversation. He didn't want Tadashi to know. He didn't want him to know how weak he was. He didn't want him to figure out who had been doing this to him. He didn't want Tadashi involved. He didn't want anyone involved. Everything would just make everything else worse. Why couldn't everyone understand that? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Wh-

Hiro was broken from his thoughts as he was pulled into a hug. Strong, warm arms wrapped around him.

"Hiro, please. Please tell me. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. I want to see you happy and healthy again, not sleeping in a hospital. Please tell me who is doing this to you. We can fix everything, if you help me help you. I swear. I'll help you. I understand wha-"

Hiro pushed Tadashi away from him, and he saw the look of surprise on his older brother's face as he landed on the floor.

"You don't understand anything Tadashi!" Hiro yelled, glaring at the surprised Hamada.

"Hiro, if you just told me-"

"Stop caring for me so much! You're just making things worse!"  
>What was he saying? Tadashi was trying to help him.<p>

"Stop trying to fix me! I'm broken and I can't be fixed!"

Please stop me. Give me another hug. I want a hug.

"You're not Dad! You don't get to replace him!"

Why is it getting hard to breath?

"Stop pretending to be something you're not and leave me _alone!_"

Am I crying? Why am I shaking so much?

"Nothing you do…is gonna change the fact that I'm a freak!"

Why was he feeling so lightheaded?

"Why can't… I be like… you?"

Was it because he was gasping for breath?

"Everyone likes… you… They don't… call you a freak… or punch you because… you didn't do their… homework… or dunk you… in a … toilet… until you… can't… brea-"

Hiro felt a warm hand on his back and one on his chest, steading him. He hadn't realized that he had started to tilt and fall until Tadashi grabbed him and held him still.

Hiro gasped for air and he watched Tadashi kneel down beside him, at the edge of the bed.

"Hiro, breathe! You're hyperventilating. You need to relax and breathe!"

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He couldn't remember how.

"Hiro look at me."

He shook his head again, fear rising in his chest at the idea of looking at his brother's face. He coughed and rasped for air to enter his lungs.

"Hiro! Clear your mind! Think of something you really like. Think about gummy bears! Tonight I'm gonna go out and buy you five whole packs of them! The big bags! The ones with all the flavors and the colors that don't match or look good together, but still manage to taste delicious."

Hiro shook his head again. It wasn't working. He couldn't stop.

He barely noticed the mattress dip as his brother climbed onto the bed and laid out next to him, placing _Callaghan's Laws of Robotics_ on the floor. Hiro felt himself being moved into his brother's warm embrace like he used to when they were little and Hiro had nightmares in the middle of the night. Tadashi began to stroke Hiro's hair and talked soft comforting words and stories from his day to him.

After some time, Hiro was finally able to get rid of the rasping in his breath, though he was still breathing unevenly. Eventually, he pushed Tadashi away from him and sat up on his bed, unwilling to face him.

He had cracked. He had told Tadashi what had happened. What had been happening. Maybe not in detail but… now he knew. He did exactly what he had wanted to avoid. Now Tadashi was going to get involved and face the bullies or get him counseling, and it would just make things worse…

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><p>Tadashi's P.O.V<p>

Tadashi's heart had jumped out of his chest when Hiro had almost collapsed on the bed, grasping the front of his shirt, gasping for air. Now his scruffy haired brother sat on the edge of the bed with his back facing Tadashi, silently steadying his breathing.

Tadashi sat on Hiro's bed, unmoved from when the younger of the two had pulled away, shocked at what had just happened. He knew that something was going on at school but… this? How did one even deal with something like this? He was so afraid to say anything for fear of causing another panic attack.

After another few moments, Tadashi decided to break the ice and speak up, but he was interrupted by a quiet voice.

"Don't ever say anything about what just happened."

Tadashi remained silent, unaware of the fact that his lips had formed into a straight, stressed line.

"Don't ever say anything about what I just told you."

Hiro took a small shaky breath.

"I just want to get through the next few years as fast as I can and if you start something, it's just gonna make it harder to finish." Hiro said, voice slightly cracking at the end.

"Or it could get better!" Tadashi said taken aback by his brother's dark voice. "Hiro, I can't just let it go on like this! You're obviously being hurt physically and mentally and-"

"Tadashi, just leave me alone!" Hiro almost yelled as he jumped from the bed and sprinted for the stairs.

Tadashi sat, shocked for a quick moment before he leapt to his feet and raced after his brother. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard the café door quickly ring open with a slam as a body collided with it and pushed it forward.

"Hiro!" Tadashi shouted, catching a glance of his brother's wild, raven black hair running into the street through the large open windows of the café as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Tadashi raced out of the café and crossed the street to where he had spotted Hiro last. He turned in circles, searching for his little brother in the busy streets.

"Crap…"

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><p>A.N Ha! Longest chapter so far! About 1,950 words of pure feelings for ya'll. R&amp;R and a great big thanks to those who reviewed! They definitely helped push me to finish this chappy tonight.<p> 


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